Looking for Relief in San Francisco

While people rarely root for their city to hit dire times, most of them don’t live in San Francisco. In the last few years, the City by the Bay has seen an influx of tech workers, tech companies and other tech accouterments, like shuttle buses to transport techie employees to their Silicon Valley jobs. Rents have skyrocketed and traffic has slowed to a crawl.

Some of the logjams and excessive costs have gotten so bad that they are now pushing San Francisco residents to root for a downturn, writes David Streitfeld. Some San Franciscans are overt about this, while others are only privately wishing it to be so.

“People would like a little of the air to come out of the tech economy,” Aaron Peskin, a member of San Francisco’s board of supervisors, told Mr. Streitfeld. “They’re like people in a heat wave waiting for the monsoon.”

It’s the latest sign that San Francisco has become an example of what-not-to-follow, despite its economic success as a tech hub. Other cities are already recognizing this dynamic. Seattle, for one, is looking toward San Francisco as a cautionary tale and has focused on developing affordable housing plans and diversifying its industries by expanding manufacturing and the maritime sector.